Ava Gene’s

Service top notch. Food fabulous. Service, did I say too notch. I truly enjoyed the evening

I was just about ready to give this restaurant 5 stars but the agressive style of our food server pushed it down a notch. The food on it’s own merrit is some of the best in Portland and it is important that you don’t try to order it any other way but to share. We had 10 different items and everyone was perfection.
The only issue was that I felt like I was being pushed to get the next order in. I like to have a leisurely pace and at one point said to our server, how about I will ask you when I’m ready for the next course. She said she would pace it out but after the first 3 items showed up within minutes of each other knew that I was being table turned.

Ava Genes was the perfect place for my boyfriend and I to start our Portland trip. The wait was about thirty minutes for a bar seat and about an hour for a table; mind you this was a rainy Wednesday night. We happily decided to wait because of all the great reviews we have heard from friends and other Portland natives. While we waited, we decided to grab a few appetizers at Pok Pok, an amazing Thai restaurant about a block away. Once we were called for our seat, we were offered either the bar or the chefs table. We immediately decided on the chefs table so that we can see all the action. Once seated we looked at the menu and knew right away that we wanted the pumpkin agnolotti with sage, Asian pear salad, Tuscan kale salad. The salads came out right away and both of them were PERFECT. The plating was incredibly important in getting the perfect bite every time and the chefs nailed it. Since we sat at the chef’s table, we got the pleasure of watching the chefs skillfully plate every dish. Once the agnolotti arrived, they even gave us a free mushroom pasta! The pumpkin pasta was perfect. Not sweet at all like most other pumpkin/​butternut squash raviolis I’ve tried in the past. The balance was on point and as simple as the dish was, the flavors were very complex at the same time. This dish is highly recommended. The pasta dish they brought out for free was equally as spectacular as the agnolotti. I’m not sure what it was called but it was a simple mushroom pasta in a light sauce.
My favorite thing about Ava Genes is the passion that each and every chef had for their food, from the line cooks to expo to sous chef. The open kitchen was a beautiful touch and you can see every line cook taste the food which I’m sure plenty of places do not do. I highly recommend this place if you will be in the Portland area; it was hands down my favorite restaurant in Portland. Cheers

This is a very good restaurant. We arrived a little late for the reservation but they were understanding. We had a nice table by the windows as requested, and the seats were not too close together. The wait staff are professional and efficient, and know the menu well. The food is great. Fresh and unique dishes. The restaurant is located on inner Division Street, in what looks like an attractive community area with other restaurants nearby. After another visit I might give it a five star rating.

Unbelievable. My tastebuds took a journey back to Italy last night.

I can’t recommend this place enough!
Had a 5:15 reservation which seems early but was perfect. We had the Burata which was phenomenal! I have had Burata in Italy many times and thus matches up pretty close.
We then had the pumpkin salad which was amazing, followed by the lamb special and the pork/​beef Tagliatelle. They have a pretty good drink menu too, amazing wines and fun cocktails.
Overall, this place is highly recommended.

Sat at the bar, watched the chef at work. One of the chef who looked like a twin, but is not, is super friendly and likable. The food is very good. Highly recommend.

Just finished a meal of all salads at the chef’s counter.
The service was wonderful and the folks in the kitchen were super friendly.
The salads were well balanced and delicious. Would totally come back!

Another winner in Portland: nice portions, simple but great flavors, good feel to the restaurant. Ribeye, sturgeon and kale salad (the best chop kale salad I have ever had, BTW) were definitely wonderful enough that I would go back and order the same dishes again the next time. Must try!

Seems like every other new fancy place popping up around here.
We mainly went b/​c I was gifted a gift card to this place.
Well that was 3 years ago-​each time we’ve tried to go on short notice we’ve been turned away, ‘no available tables tonight’ oh brother! Where are we? New York?
This place is good, but didn’t live up to the hype.
The seats are CRAMMED together. Seriously sardine style.
We’d requested a ‘quiet’ table (2 months ago, that is, when I made my reservation online) — and of course when we arrived we were sat next to 3 loud businessmen from abroad, wheeling & dealing all night long on & on about competition & websites & blah blah blah.
The food was pretty good, but at one point it took 10+ minutes to put in a drink order w/​our server. Who knows where she’d gone.
The garden selection was good, the halibut was good, but aside from that I cannot really recall much about the food, except that it wasn’t bad.
It’s too bad, I’d expected so much more. It kinda just felt like I was part of the Portland culinary machine.
It was pretty generic & left me feeling gross.
I’m literally in bed belching right now, with stomach cramps. Very very rich food btw

I have been eager to try Ava Gene’s since they opened up. I didn’t have an occasion to go or there was a wait when we are in the neighborhood searching for a place to eat. I decided to treat a friend to a birthday dinner and, finally, make it in.
It was a Thursday night and no reservations or tables available around 6:30pm, however, there were bar seating available immediately. There was only the two of us so that was fine. The bartender was very helpful in suggestions for wine. He efficient in keeping track of the course we were on and taking the next course order. They have a large wine selection, but only limited wines by the glass which was $ 13 or a flight of three for $ 19. I remember looking at the menu in the past and being overwhelmed because a majority was in Italian, but they changed that. It’s less intimidating when you know what you are ordering.
We started out with a glass of white and red wine. I can’t recall which red I picked, it was one that the bartender recommended to me. For the antipasto, we decided to go with a Burrata which is served with some bread. That Burrata… ooh, so divine! It had a very delightful, soft texture and the acidity from the tomatoes and nuttiness of the walnut complimented it well. For the primi, I got the Cavatelli with lamb and broccoli while my friend got the Fettuccine with black pepper and pancetta (?). The pastas were delicious. Anytime you have handmade pasta, it’s typically good but it didn’t blow my mind or the combination of flavor wasn’t unique. I’ve had better in town. We didn’t make it to the secondi, too stuffed, and passed on the dolce.
The service at Ava Gene’s is excellent, love the cozy (elegant rustic) atmosphere, and the food was great. I think I had my expectations set too high and too much anticipation to dine here.

Had dinner here last night with another couple. We shared numerous dishes between the four of us and they were all great. The place has a cool atmosphere and was packed.
The staff was a bit forgetful and slow. They forgot about our dessert order. But when reminded, they were nice about it and didn’t put it on the check.

Took my boyfriend on a nice date for his birthday last night. We were about fifteen minutes early and they sat us right away. The drinks were stellar, and I had a nice pour of wine that lasted the entire meal. The ambiance had a nice buzz of energy without feeling over crowded. It was beautifully designed.
The food was excellent! My boyfriend had the tagliatelle with chicken and peppers and I ordered something my server had not recommended and I was pleasantly surprised. I had the spaghetti with ricotta and eggplant. We enjoyed tasting one another’s meals without feeling like one was better than the other.
As an appetizer, try the gnocco it’s to die for!

Cozy atmosphere — but sit at the chef’s counter for an appetizing view of the bustling dish preparations.
Summery salad of peaches, corn, sprouted barley, pistachios, and chiles… so fresh and tangy!
Bruschetta of fresh sheep cheese, tomatoes, and basil, was delectable with the slow-​roasted heirloom tomatoes. AMAZING balance of creamy and zesty!
Rigatoni, lamb and pork ragu in bianco, with radicchio… hearty flavor and perfectly al dente pasta!

Great meal! We went for our first anniversary. The staff were all incredible, especially since we had to bring our 2-​month old newborn. Great service!
The food was delicious. We started with the burrata, which was exceptional. The pastas are great, too. Be sure to get your server’s recommendations… It pays off. They really made our night. Thank you.

Took a hot Asian woman w me here. Impressive place.
Cocktails are excellent. Take a chance here. The «new» Fashioned is an Old Fashioned on vacation. Go Beet salad, garlic bread (must haves)… lamb tagliatelle pasta is also delicious. I’d avoid «Tuscan Cavalry» salad and order two Beet salads if you’re w a companion. You won’t want to share.
Atmosphere is great. For an east side place it feels neutral when it comes to attitude. Just about everything on menu worked for me.
Dinner for two — $ 126. My date was smoking hot. Total minx.
I think I’m going to have a good night!

Where to start with miss ava gene? Stumptown founder/​genius has the nose for what works and this spot definitely does.
We stopped in here for a late (LATE) dinner after driving in from Cannon beach. Micah, our server, was just so kind and patient as I asked 1000 questions about items I should probably know but don’t. Spigarello? Colatura? I felt like a restaurant newb there and I kind of liked it, A totally affordable ($ 35) bottle of wine and two small plates in were were already singing Ava’s praises. The flavor! The freshness! The fullness of it all.
The atmosphere is gorgeous of course — beautifully designed but accessible. The 60s hits playing were a nice touch. It’s really quite hard to capture the elegance and exceptional nature of our experience there. Get whatever cheese they’re doing and one thing off of each menu. The portions look a little smaller than what you’re used to but they’re so rich and fulfilling that you’ll be perfectly satisfied at the end of the meal.
When I return to Portland this fall, this will be one place I’m immediately making reservations for.

A friend visiting from Japan requested to come here. sometime guidebook
tells you all good things about the place and often disappoint about it. I knew that wasn’t the case here. Started with a refreshing rose wine and some appetizers, sea beans, hazelnut, squash and goat cheese on top of garlic toast, celery salad marinated with olive oil and dates, cured meet plate and chicken Ragu. Love everything with my eyes and tang. They satisfied my friends as well and am glad that I can show her how PDX is getting really great at food sene! Addicting to it, great service. Sometime places are getting poplar and they have some attitude and sadly I won’t come back because of that but this place manages very well and know how to treat their customers.

Came in for a super special lady date last week for the Vegetable Dinner Series with Chef Gregory Gourdet from Departure. It was so impressive! I had never been to Ava Genes before and I’m so glad this was the event that got me through the door.
–Even with a 9:30pm reso, this place was hopping, if it takes you a while to get on the book or they only have certain times open — wait and take what you can get. IT’S WORTH IT.
–We tried a lot of the special items Josh and GG had prepared for that night but also tried some AG classics. The garlic bread was good, as basic as that sounds it was just the right dish to either get the party started or keep it going while you’re waiting for your salad/​app/​entrée to come out.
–I think it’s really unique they incorporate KURE juices into their drink menu, and clearly focus and pride themselves on using and sharing local northwest ingredients in their classic Italian dishes.
–No joke. I walked out and already started looking forward to the next time I could again sit at the chefs counter, and eat the garlic bread and the kale pesto pasta!
–The only bummer about the entire experience was that the food we had boxed didn’t find its way back to us, and we were too shy to say anything. Same thing happened to my coworker when she dined the next day. Honest mistake for sure, but people want to eat your food, let them take it home. :) :) xoxo

This is a restaurant I am glad we dined at but probably won’t be back.
Fit for foodies and we are not truley that. However, guests seemed to be enjoying themselves. Excellent décor and great vibe.
That being said…
It took a while to get the staff’s attention. They are super busy. Management needs to hire more wait staff for peak dining. We felt a little rushed as in wait staff wanted us to order right away and we wanted to talk. Not a place to come for a relaxing meal and conversation, they are busy and seem to rush in order to turn tables. Lots of people waiting to eat here outside. Great energy.
Eventhough it took some patience, our drink orders were finally taken. Small selection of Itailian wines and waited a while for the sommelier to come and explain the selections. We were at the table about 10 minutes without a drink. Kinda unusual. Water was even a little late.
We finally ordered our dinner after persusing what all the other guests were feasting on. Tables are close together so grabbing a look was pretty easy.
The salads arrived and were pleasantly spectacular. We ordered battered asparagus with pea pods. Also, a green salad so pretty we almost couldn’t eat it but enjoyed every bite, including the flowers and especially the dressing.
The pasta’s were a perfect size. My rigatoni was good but had been under the hot lights a little too long as it was crusty on top from over heated.
We ordered a salmon dish to share. It arrived raw in the middle – is that normal? We ate it as the staff was so busy and we were more into our conversation than dinner at this point.
Dessert followed with gelato, etc.
All in all, it was okay. I made this reservation two months ago and it still was hard to get the time we wanted. Glad we ate early. Best to all, it looks very successful.